Columbia tops Lyon in final contest of 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Columbia, Mo. – The Columbia Cougar men’s basketball team recorded a win today in its final outing of the 2009 calendar year, defeating Lyon (Ark.) College 72-61. The win moves the Cougars to 5-9 on the season. The loss drops the Scots to 3-8.
Columbia jumped out to a 37-28 first half lead, holding the Scots to a 37 percent shooting performance. The Cougars shot 59 percent in the first frame, netting 16-of-27 from the field, including five three-pointers.
In the second half, both teams shot around 40 percent, but the Cougars managed to outscore the visiting team 35-33 to come away with the 11-point win. Columbia forced the Scots into 25 turnovers in the game, dropping in 32 points off Lyon’s miscues.
Leading the way for Columbia was Kaleb Turner with 13 points. Aleksander Eric added 12 points while Jaron Strickland chipped in 10.
The Cougars return to the hardwood on Jan. 1-2 when they, along with the Lady Cougars, host the 8th Annual Cougars vs. Cancer Holiday Classic. Games will take place at 2 p.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. each day. The Cougars will play the 8 p.m. contest each evening. Men’s teams participating in the event include William Woods (Mo.) University, Graceland (Iowa) University and Culver-Stockton (Mo.) College. Columbia will take on Culver-Stockton on Friday and Graceland on Saturday.